Editing Enforced disappearance (section)

==Human rights law==
In [[international human rights law]], disappearances at the hands of the state has been labelled as "enforced" or "forced disappearances" since the [[Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action|Vienna Declaration and Program of Action]]. For example, the practice is specifically addressed by the [[Organization of American States|OAS]]'s Inter-American Convention on Forced Disappearance of Persons. There is also evidence that enforced disappearances occur systematically during armed conflict,<ref>{{cite journal |first=Brian |last=Finucane |ssrn=1427062 |title=Enforced Disappearance as a Crime Under International Law |journal=Yale Journal of International Law |volume=35 |page=171 |date=2010}}</ref> such as Nazi Germany's [[Night and Fog]] program, which constitutes war crimes.

In February 1980, the United Nations established the [[Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances]], "the first United Nations human rights thematic mechanism to be established with a universal mandate." Its main task "is to assist families in determining the fate or whereabouts of their family members who have reportedly disappeared." In August 2014, the working group reported 43,250 unresolved cases of disappearances in 88 different states.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disappearances/Pages/Annual.aspx|title=OHCHR {{!}} WGEID – Annual reports|website=www.ohchr.org|access-date=17 July 2019|archive-date=17 July 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190717085531/https://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Disappearances/Pages/Annual.aspx|url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance]], adopted by the UN General Assembly on December 20, 2006, states that the widespread or systematic practice of enforced disappearances constitutes a crime against humanity. It gives victims' families the right to seek reparations and to demand the truth about the disappearance of their loved ones. The convention provides the right not to be subjected to enforced disappearance, as well as the right for the relatives of the disappeared person to know the truth and ultimate fate of the disappeared person. 

The convention contains several provisions concerning the prevention, investigation, and sanctioning of this crime. It also contains provisions about the rights of victims and their relatives, and the wrongful removal of children born during their captivity. The convention further sets forth the obligation of international cooperation, both in the suppression of the practice and in dealing with humanitarian aspects related to the crime. 

The convention establishes a Committee on Enforced Disappearances, which will be charged with important and innovative functions of monitoring and protection at an international level. Currently, an international campaign called the [[International Coalition against Enforced Disappearances]] is working towards universal ratification of the convention.

Disappearances work on two levels: not only do they silence opponents and critics who have disappeared, but they also create uncertainty and fear in the wider community, silencing others they think would oppose and criticize. Disappearances entail the violation of many [[fundamental right|fundamental]] human rights declared in the [[United Nations]] [[Universal Declaration of Human Rights|Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)]]. For the disappeared person, these include the [[Freedom (political)|right to liberty]], the right to personal security and humane treatment (including freedom from torture), the [[right to a fair trial]], to [[counsel|legal counsel]] and to [[equal protection]] under the law, and the [[presumption of innocence|right of presumption of innocence]]. Their families, who often spend the rest of their lives searching for information on the disappeared, are also victims.